Model falls from Manhattan building in apparent suicide
A model who walked runways around the world and graced the covers of fashion magazines fell from a Manhattan building Saturday in an apparent suicide, New York City police said.
Ruslana Korshunova, known for her distinctive long hair and green eyes, was apparently killed in the fall at 2:30 p.m. onto busy Water Street outside the Financial District condo building where she lived.
It appeared she fell from the balcony of her ninth-floor apartment, police said, where a large hole was visible in construction netting hanging on the front of the 12-story building.
Investigators were still examining the scene late Saturday, but a police source said there was no sign of a struggle in the apartment. It was unclear if anyone else was in the apartment at the time of the fall or if a suicide note was found. The city medical examiner is to determine the cause of death.
Mahmoud Nakeeb, 45, the building doorman, said he arrived for work about 4 p.m. to find Korshunova’s sheet-covered body in the middle of Water Street.
“She’s a very sweet girl. She was always smiling. I never see her depressed,” Nakeeb said. Korshunova moved in about two months ago, renting the one-bedroom apartment, which had previously been converted from a studio, from the condo owner, he said.
Korshunova, 20, was originally from the former Russian republic of Kazakhstan, according to published reports. Since 2003, she has appeared on the covers of European editions of Elle and Vogue magazines, and in ads for DKNY, Vera Wang, Marc Jacobs and other companies.
Nakeeb worked the night shift on Friday and was on duty when Korshunova came home alone between 4 and 5 a.m., dressed casually and apparently undisturbed. “She said ‘Hi.’ She always said ‘Hi,’” he said.
Korshunova was represented in New York by IMG Models, a top-tier international agency that lists supermodels Kate Moss and Heidi Klum among its clients.
An IMG representative confirmed Saturday that Korshunova was a client but declined to comment further. Korshunova’s condo board president also declined to comment.
(source)
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